Spellbound by the Mate Bond

Aimee’s P.O.V

“Aimee! Aimee! Don’t you faint on me!...”

Lily's voice was muffled like she was talking through a wall. I felt her hands tapping my cheeks, trying to snap me out of it. But I didn't want to. Reality sucked; it crushed me.

I wanted to stay in the darkness, where I could escape everything.

But then a sharp sting brought me back, and I gasped, blinking at the bright lights overhead. My hand flew to my cheek, where it burned like hell.

Ow! Lily had slapped me. Hard. I knew she meant well, but that hurt like hell.

A sob caught in my throat as I looked up at her. She was kneeling beside me, her eyes wide with worry.

“Are you okay, Aimee?” She shook my shoulders, making me wince, and I realized that I was in the party hall, on the floor.

Shit, did I pass out?

“You look red, babe.” She frowned. “I swear, I’ll hang Jake’s balls on….”

My eyes drifted shut as my throat tightened, tuning out her voice. A wave of nausea churned through me as Jake's words echoed in my head.

He’d ripped my heart out of my chest.

As I relived Jake’s betrayal, I felt a sudden stab in my stomach, like someone was twisting a knife inside me. Curling up, I held my belly as sweat dripped from my forehead.

My teeth dug into my lips to stop a scream, my guts churning like they were tearing apart.

This was bad fucking timing.

Why now? Why did my wolf have to wake up now when I was falling apart?

Damn, it hurts.

The pain was like wildfire, burning every part of me. I felt like I was dying and coming back to life at the same time. My wolf was waking up earlier, triggered by the emotional turmoil I had faced.

She was a phoenix, rising from the ruins of my shattered heart. But as the fire subsided, a new feeling took over. Quickly, my ears picked up the sounds in the hall: heartbeats, breaths, whispers. In the crowd, my eyes caught the blur of colors, details, and movements.

Hey, I’m Kira. A tiny voice echoed in my head, but before I could respond, I smelt it.

And then it assailed my senses, making my mouth water as my eyes widened.

Cedar, woodlands....and leather. So fucking intoxicating and irresistible.

The scent drew me deeper into the hall like a magnet. I followed it, oblivious to everything else around me, even Lily.

The music, the lights, and even Jake and his new Luna all blurred into insignificance. Nothing else mattered but finding where it was coming from.

It was so masculine, so mesmerizing, that my wolf whimpered with the need to sniff him up close.

I pushed through the crowd, searching for it as I felt a pull in my chest, a longing in my soul.

Then I saw him.

He stood on the stage, his long, lean fingers strumming a microphone. Molten lava burned in my lungs as I took in his tall, muscular form in a suit that hugged his body.

My heart hammered in my chest, muffling the sound of the world around me. Deep and smooth, his voice flowed over the crowd, holding us spellbound as we leaned forward with bated breaths.

His words became a distant murmur as if a veil had been drawn between us. My eyes traced every contour of his face, every subtle movement he made. I imagined his hands on my skin, his warmth against me, and a shiver ran down my spine.

"What are you doing here?" Jake's voice cut through my trance, making me jump. His fingers dug into my arms like claws, leaving bruises on my skin as he yanked me to a secluded corner of the hall like he didn’t want to be seen with me.

"Let go, you fucking bastard." I spat, trying to escape his grip, but he was an alpha wolf.

Before I knew what was happening, Jake pinned me to the wall, his body crushing mine. His eyes were like steel–cold and hard–as he glared at me.

Unlike before, our proximity made me sick to my stomach. He had lied to me and hurt me in the worst way possible. And now he acted like he had a claim on me. The fucking audacity!

His breath tickled my ear as he whispered his disgusting offer. “I know you’re just trying to play hard to get,” he said. “But I’ll let you be my mistress if you…”

I shoved him away, repulsed by his touch.

“Get over yourself!” I snapped. “You really have a lot of nerve…”

He frowned at my rejection. “Come on, Aimee,” he said. “Don’t be so uptight. You know you still want me…Besides, no one would ever want you as I have rejected you. You’ll spend your life as a wretched old woman living alone…without me….”

His smug smile made me want to vomit. He was so full of himself, so entitled. No wonder my family hated him. How could I have been so blind to love him?

I opened my mouth to tell him off, to make him regret ever hurting me, when I saw Jessica walking towards us.

Thank God he would leave me alone now— A sharp pain on my cheek cut off my thought.

I gasped as my head snapped to the side, tears stinging my eyes. I touched my cheek, feeling the heat and the swelling.

Hatred bloomed in my chest, burning like fire. How dare he hit me?

But before I could react, he spoke up.

“Baby, I had to teach her a lesson,” Jake muttered to Jessica, wrapping his arm around her. “Can you believe she came onto me, trying to seduce me right here? She’s so shameless and cheap!”

Jessica pulled away from him and glared at me with contempt. “Stay away from us, you spineless worm! I deserve the title of Luna more than any other she-wolf in this pack, not to talk of a weak, foolish omega like you.”

They both turned their backs on me, disappearing into the crowd. The air in the hall grew too tight as humiliation lanced through me. Everyone around me paused, pointing fingers, whispering, and laughing.

Oh God, they were making fun of me. All thoughts of the man on stage flew out of my mind as I struggled to hold back my tears. I had to get away from here, or the dam would burst.

Dashing out of the hall, I ignored the stares and whispers of the people around me. I didn't know where I was going but I knew who I needed to see.

The pain in my heart blocked out my surroundings, and when I finally came to, I realized I was standing in front of a cottage, deep in the woods, away from the pack and the town.